The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-12-17
CARE or PICTURES.
How TO Keep Them Bright. Clean and
Free from All Dust.


after than the pictures, and yet, in tho
majority Of homes, they get the least
care Of any thing. During the house
cleaning they arc removed from their
places. busted with cloth or feather
duster, wiped over and hung up again.
and. with tho exception of light dust
ing now and then, this is all the care
they receive drom one years end to
another. It istoo bad that these shonid
be so thoughtlcssly neglected. for good
pictures do more to brighten the homo
than any other article of furniture.
Most people who are fortunate enough
to be- the possessors of oil paintings
know that they should never bo hung
in a strong light, for il so hung. they
soon take on faded, washed-Out ap-
pearance, but perhaps these same peo-
pie do not know that chromos suffer in
the same way if exposed for any length
of time in II strong light. The word
chrome has an uninviting sound, being
associated with the advertising card,
yet there are many very fine chromos.
that even the most artistic would not
be ashamed to hang up in their homes.
The art of chromo-making has reached
so near perfection in the last few years
that many of the finer grades of chro-
mos are much more preferable to tho
inferior grades of oil paintings.
Very often in pictures such as litho-
graphs. steel engravings, or any Of
those that have glass over their faces.
dust is observed between the glass and
picture, making an ugly mark on the
face or margin of the paper. This is
caused by the back of the picture not
being covered properly. and owing to
knot hole in tho boards, or the
crevices between the boards, the dust
works its way in. AS "an ounce of
prevention is worth pound of cure"
it is well to see, before the picture is
put in place. that the back is covered
properly. Get some smooth wrapping
paper, or lacking that. newspaper. and
some paste, gum arabic or thin liquid
glue. Cut the paper large enough to
cover the whole back of the picture and
extend to within an inch or less (ac-
cording to the size of the picture, as "
small picture will not require rs much
margin us u large one) of the outside
edge on the back of the frame all
around. Paste it firmly all around the
edges, and there will be no dust on the
inside of that picture while the paper
remains whole.
If the dust is already on the inside Of
the picture, then the only thing to be
done is to take the picture from tho
frame and dust it. Any woman with
a little ingenuity can do this. First
lay the picture, face down, on flat
surface; the kitchen table is just the
thing. Take off the paper at the back
if it has any. remove the brads care
fully that are used to hold the board or
boards for many pictures have two
and three pieces of board at their
backs, Joined together to fill the space),
lift out the boards and lay them aside.
Now comes the picture. which must be
taken out very carefully, for fear of
tearing. Loosen one end and the COR
ners with thin-bladed, blunt knife,
then taking hold of the end lift tho
picture from the frame. If it has been
put in very tightly it is we'll to loosen
it carefully along all the edges to pre-
vent tearing; but usually it comes out
very easily. Lay it upon another table.
face up. and with soft silk cloth dust
it thoroughly. If there are any dust
spots on the margin that the cloth will
not remove, shake over them some dry
-four, rub it gently, then brush of, and
they will be much improved. Although
the glass can be removed, it is better
to dust it rs it is, in the frame. for fear
of accidents. When the glass has been
well busted put in the picture, being
careful to have it straight. fit the
boards into their proper place after
having busted them, and put in tho
brads to hold them in place. Now
cover the back with paper. and tho
picture is finished.
Before hanging pictures. more par
eyes at the back, through which the
cord is passed and fastened. are firmly
attached and the cord fastened to them
securely. Be sure that the cord used
is heavy enough to sustain the weight
of the picture, and that the nail or hook
from which it hangs is securely fas-
tened in beam. For light pictures it
is not of so much Importance that tho
nail or hook should lodge in beam. as
n lath will answer their purpose very
well. but for Il heavy picture. or even Il
medium weight, it is very important
that the nail should be fastened firmly
in beam. Have somebody who un-
derstands, by sounding with the ham
mer, find the location of the beam, and
don't try to find it by hammering into
the wall nails. trusting to luck to hit
the beam, for you will only deface the
wall and have little chance of finding !.
beam in this way.
When buying pictures with gilded
frames, have the frames coated with
some white varnish, and you can wipe
off fly specks with milk and water
without harming the gilt. When dust
ing rough brass or gilt frames, use u
dry. soft paint brush, as this will do
the work better than cloth or feather
dusler. for it can be worked into all the
crcvices. Examine the pictures once
in IL while, especially heavy ones, tc